By Brian Ramsey
OBU Sports Information

RUSSELLVILLE — The Ouachita Baptist University women’s soccer team has been picked to finish second in the Great American Conference according to the league’s head coaches.

The Tigers earned 31 points in the coaches’ poll, just four behind preseason league favorite and defending regular season champion Southwestern Oklahoma State. SWOSU earned five first-place votes. Ouachita earned the other two in the seven-team league.

Ouachita returns seven All-GAC performers and 10 starters from last year’s team that finished 9-7-2 overall and 6-5-1 in GAC games. It was the program’s third consecutive winning season and sixth overall under 11th-year head coach Kevin Wright.

Highlighting Ouachita’s returning starters include four-time first team All-GAC selection and last season’s GAC midfielder of the year Jaymee Dotson, and All-GAC first team goalkeeper Michele Snow, who was named GAC goalkeeper of the week three times last year. Other all-conference performers returning include forward Jamie Fowler, forward Gracen Turner, defender Ashlyn Lynch, midfielder Josilyn Kispert, and defender Frankie Nine.

The 2022 season gets underway for Ouachita on Thursday, August 25 at home against Northeastern State starting at 2 p.m.

2022 GAC WOMEN’S SOCCER PRESEASON COACHES POLL

1.      Southwestern Oklahoma State (35 points, five first-place votes)

2.      Ouachita (31 points, two first-place votes)

3.      Oklahoma Baptist (26 points)

4.      Northwestern Oklahoma State (18 points)

5.      Harding (17 points)

6.      East Central (13 points)

7.      Southern Nazarene (seven points)